Invest in the Future – AIAA Foundation Endowment Opportunities

The General Endowment Fund: A gift to the General Endowment Fund supports every facet of the AIAA Foundation. This fund is integral to the success of our mission, and is used wherever the need is greatest at any given time.

Graduate Awards and Undergraduate Scholarships: Helping college students as they work to earn their degrees has long been one of the cornerstones of the AIAA Foundation. We fund 43 scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate students. A key goal of the Endowment Campaign is to double the prize amount of each scholarship and award to help students with the rising cost of higher education. Undergraduate scholarships currently range from $2,000 to $2,500, and graduate awards are $5,000 or $10,000.

K-12 Education: AIAA and the AIAA Foundation are partners for K-12 education, providing resources to help teachers excite and inspire students in math and science.

Our Classroom Grants provide opportunities for teachers to supplement their lesson plans with hands-on math and science activities that actively engage students in creative and innovative projects, and often provides funding for programs that may have been cut from school budgets. The AIAA program is one of the best sources that teachers turn to for activities assistance, and awards $200 grants to 100 teachers annually.

The Foundation also recognizes excellence in education with Educator Achievement Awards. Every two years, the AIAA Foundation recognizes up to seven outstanding educators for their accomplishments in teaching math and science to K–12 students and preparing them to use and contribute to tomorrow’s technologies.

Education Alley is a traveling exhibit available at the AIAA conferences and expositions, giving students and teachers an opportunity to learn more about space, attend special sessions, guided tours of the exhibit hall, and participate in hands-on demonstrations that show students what opportunities the space program provides for them in the future.

Design Competitions: The AIAA Foundation sponsors eight design competitions every year, asking students to solve real-world design problems. These respected competitions give our best student designers a chance to put their talent front and center in the aerospace world. For example, the goal of the Design/Build/Fly Competition is a balanced design, demonstrating good flight handling qualities, high vehicle performance, and practical and affordable manufacturing requirements. To encourage innovation and maintain a fresh design challenge for participants, design requirements and performance objectives are modified for each contest year.

Student Conferences: The Foundation supports two types of student conferences each year: nine Regional Student Conferences held throughout the United States, Europe and the Pacific Asian Basin, and one International Student Conference held in conjunction with the Aerospace Sciences Meeting. Conferences provide undergraduate and graduate students with the chance to present research in a formal technical meeting atmosphere, to network with and receive feedback from respected industry professionals and students.

Professional Achievement and Recognition: Every year, the Foundation rewards outstanding achievement with recognition events for the AIAA Associate Fellows, Fellows and Honorary Fellows programs. In addition, the Foundation gives prestigious acknowledgement for extraordinary accomplishments in the following areas: Technical, Service, Publications, and Distinguished Service, plus Special Citations to promote technical and scientific excellence.